The ultimate goal in any company... ...is to acquire AND retain customers where costs to acquire and retain are less than expenses, which leads to profits. Boiled down to this single statement, then the most important variable in the finances is the marketing spend. Even if your other expenses are high or way out of [...]

This is a Quora questions I was asked. Here is my answer I did a quick search in my industry source and did not find anything that specific. Here are some quick metrics to make a guess: As of 2016, they are north of $300 mm in sales; Unprofitable; Raised $220 mm to date from [...]

A great article on marketing for a small farm from Riva Richmond on Forbes. I love small farms and buy all our meat direct from ones that meet our standards for quality product and humane treatment of animals. We certainly need more small farms that produce quality products in humane ways. Here's a comment I left [...]

This is a Quora question: Brands and Branding: What are the barriers to entry for CPG companies (Food, HPC)? What prevents new on-trend brands ("better for you") from displacing established brands? My answer is as follows. There are two key reasons, from my perspective. Brands that come up with new products with small improvements over [...]

I read an article recently about instead of selling just try to make it easier to buy. It got me thinking of a few ways this plays out in my work: Messaging vs. product: do I focus on more messaging/advertising or do I focus on improving and making a better product that drives word-of-mouth marketing and [...]

I recently worked on a direct marketing campaign with mediocre results. I saw a 7.5% response, which in direct marketing would be considered very successful, but I was hoping for something north of 20%, considering the free offer provided. I don't have any historical data indicating that I should have gotten 20%; it's just the number I [...]

I was talking to a company recently about their product, a really nifty little item that I like and am actually using myself. As usual, when I first talk to companies about their products, I immediately begin to think over how to best market and sell their products. I am somewhat obsessed with figuring that [...]

Marketing is constantly evolving with new channels and vehicles to reach consumers. Technology is pretty much driving and ensuring that. But sometimes, what's old and that which no one seemingly pays attention to works the best. I've been working with a company over the last few years that operates in a pretty crowded and competitive [...]

This post presents a small CPG food company that I recently met. What follows are the facts I know about the company, its struggles and my recommendations. Company This company is 4 years old with the founder as sole employee. He is also the product inventor. Product Innovation There are 6 consumer retail products that [...]

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I am a startup and growth company expert: sold 1, built 5, and crashed 2. I develop, launch and grow consumer products through methods that can lead to more sales – faster – and can make a company and its products more appealing to consumers and resellers, with less risk. More about me here.